Chapter 14 - The Setup
|
My blood turned to ice.
“If you touch my mother, Victor will kill you,” I choked out, my hand trembling against the phone.
“Victor is currently being detained by the FBI for questioning regarding an offshore bank account,” Richard Caldwell chuckled darkly. “I orchestrated it to get him out of the way. He can't help you, Anna. Pier 44. Come alone.”
The line went dead.
I dropped the phone. Panic clawed at my throat. I couldn't call Victor, and if I told Marco, he would lock me in the estate while Caldwell’s men hurt my mother.
I had to fix this myself.
I went to my suite and opened the small lockbox in my closet. Inside was a small, silver .38 caliber pistol Victor had given me for emergencies, insisting I learn how to shoot it. I shoved it into my purse, grabbed the keys to one of the estate’s nondescript sedans, and slipped out the back service exit before Marco could notice I was gone.
The drive to the Brooklyn docks was a blur of adrenaline and terror.
Pier 44 was abandoned, lined with rusting shipping containers and smelling of salt and dead fish. I parked the car and stepped out into the freezing wind, clutching my purse tightly against my side.
“I’m here!” I yelled into the empty warehouse.
Footsteps echoed on the concrete. Richard Caldwell walked out from the shadows of a container. He looked older than his pictures, his face twisted with grief and rage. Two massive, armed mercenaries flanked him.
“You ruined my son,” Richard spat, walking toward me. “He can barely hold a fork, let alone sign a contract. He is disgraced.”
“He tried to assault me,” I fired back, standing my ground. “Your son is a monster you created.”
“He is my blood!” Richard roared. “And you are nothing! You are a waitress! DeLuca is tearing my empire apart for a whore he’ll get bored of in a month.”
Richard nodded to his men. They raised their weapons, pointing them directly at my chest.
“DeLuca loves you,” Richard sneered. “So I am going to send him your heart in a box. It’s the only way to break him.”
I shoved my hand into my purse, grabbing the cold metal grip of the pistol.
May you like
Before I could pull it out, the screech of tires echoed through the warehouse.
A black SUV smashed through the chained fence, hurtling directly toward Caldwell’s men.
